Residency- Issa Sharpe- 4 hours
This was the final class of the course! It was really laid back. Students finalized their articles and photos and assembled into an InDesign document. We also took a headshot of each student to be included in the zine. The lead teaching artists, Angela and Jasmine, will be printing the zines. Venice Arts host an exhibition at the end of each term to showcase the work of the students. The students will be able to see the completed zine then. Unfortunately, I will be back home in the suburbs of Chicago. I'm going to ask Angela and Jasmine to send me a copy of the zine, so I can hold on to a physical memory of this amazing class.
We had a lot of free time to eat snacks and socialize. It was hard to say goodbye. This is the longest I have spent with one particular group of students. The relationships built felt very real and wholesome. I'll definitely have to make a trip back and stop by Venice Arts to see how these students have progressed! Overall, my experience volunteering for Venice Arts was incredible. I learned so much about working creatively with students. I was also so inspired by the passions and interests of these students. Their ideas about environmental, political, and social justice lead me to believe that they will develop into active, critical, engaged citizens, which is everything a teacher can ask for.